


retinue

by jeweltone



Category: Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Jupiter Jones is Out of Fucks to Give, Jupiter Jones is a BAMF, Underground Splice Culture, basically just the whole Bolotnikov clan tbh, fuck space capitalism, probably more seedy bars than strictly necessary, sad bee dad is sad but also angry, this movie has such an interesting world i love it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-06
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2018-05-31 16:10:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6477016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeweltone/pseuds/jeweltone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jupiter tries to come to terms with her power and keep her values in a world that seems hellbent on squeezing her into a mold.</p>
<p>OR</p>
<p>Jupiter does not acquire her staff in the usual manner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	retinue

**Author's Note:**

> So this is completely unbeta-ed (unbeta'd? unbeta'ed? does it really matter?) and I wrote it in like .005 seconds after watching JA for a third time last night so it probably doesn't make any sense and everybody is out of character, but whatever.

She’s been splitting her time between Stinger’s and home, pretending to have a job as a live-in nanny to excuse her long and irregular absences. Somehow, her family buys this story without any further fleshing out, for which she is grateful - she’s too tired these days to try and fabricate lies her mother won’t see through.

Stinger’s place is where she goes to sort through the legal (and literal) mess she inherited from her predecessor - slow going, since it’s just her, Stinger, and Caine doing all of it. Kiza, God love her, does _not_ have a mind for law or politics, and she’s said as much. She does, however, succeed in keeping them all fed and watered during their long nights spent pouring over endless sheaves, for which Jupiter is endlessly grateful. (Honestly, there’s the space equivalent of a container truck full of them in the backyard. They’ve been at it for this long and they haven’t even made a dent).

Caine and Stinger suggest purchasing a staff of lawyers in about the same tone they’d use to mention a change of weather outside; Jupiter - appalled, but mindful that this what they were born into and what they expect - adamantly refuses. Entirely coincidentally, that’s also the day they find the sheave that says:

_If an Entitled who is not the last remaining member of their House is to die or be killed, then their entire Estate (Estate herein being defined as planets, stock, market shares, alcazars, and personal effects including but not limited to splices and other contract-bound servants) will pass on to the Heir named in the Last Will and Testament of the aforementioned deceased Entitled, or in the absence of such a document, the Sovereign of their own House._

By now Jupiter can read legalese well enough to understand that she’s the owner of all of Balem’s stuff. The thought, while intriguing, doesn’t really excite her until Kiza mentions that he undoubtedly had at least a hundred lawyers of his own that would probably love to get their grubby little hands on the mountain out back.

That very day, Jupiter herself contacts the closes thing Balem had to a majordomo, the foreman of the Jupiter Refinery - Chicanery Night, who asks to meet on Orous because as a splice, he cannot legally travel the Gyre without direct orders from his owner. They decide to make a trip out of it - they’ll talk to Chicanery first and meet with the Director-General of the Legion about her Honor Guard appointment while they’re in town.

They find him at a bar in a seedier section of the satellite ring drinking straight whiskey out of a beer stein, flanked by two schnockered Sargorn and a wide berth of free space where nobody else dares to sit. He’s halfway half-lit himself, but not nearly as much as when she first met him in her house, kidnapping her family.

“Your majesty,” he begins, setting down his whiskey daintily on the bar and spinning on the stool to face her. “I see you’ve realized we belong to you now.”

Jupiter nods, taking a step closer to him. “Uh-huh.” She fixes him with an unbreaking stare she hopes to hell looks queenly. “You evacuated the Jupiter Refinery and told everyone but Balem Abrasax. Why?”

The rat splice snorts. “To put it frankly, your majesty, I hated the bastard. It was a golden opportunity, really. Couldn’t pass it up.”

“Good answer,” Jupiter says, cracking a smile. Beside her, Stinger flags down the bartender and tosses him a stack of credits that has his eyebrows shooting up into his hairline (at least, Jupiter thinks that’s a hairline. It might not even be hair). Features softening, Jupiter continues. “I need a majordomo kind of badly, mainly because at the moment I am a huge mess in the middle of an even bigger mess, and I know you may not have the most experience with it, but at this point, you’re all I’ve got. I’d like to put you in the position, if you're willing.”

He actually laughs, throwing back the rest of his whiskey with an ease that shocks her. “ _If I'm willing_ , she says.” He hops down from the barstool, grinning at the floor before meeting her eyes. “Your majesty, I was _bred_ to be a majordomo.”

“So you’ll do it?” Jupiter asks, breathless with excitement at the thought of having her weekends free again.

Chicanery goes very still, turns on a heel to face her full on. “Your majesty is _asking_ me? Such a thing implies I have a choice in the matter.”

“You do,” she replies simply.

It’s Caine that speaks next, and maybe it’s the words of a fellow splice that reassure Chicanery more than Jupiter ever could. “Her majesty is unconventional in the extreme, but she is sincere. You can say no if you so desire, and no punishment will come to you or yours because of it.” Caine actually sounds… proud.

This brings the two Sargorn to full alertness. A range of expressions play across Chicanery’s face as he rests a hand on the back of the barstool for support. The realization that this is probably the first time he has ever been truly presented with the concept of personal choice and freedom breaks Jupiter’s heart.

He drops to one knee before her, resting his forehead on his knuckles. “Your majesty,” he begins, and his voice shakes. “It would be a most undeserved honor.”

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2: Chapter 2: The Sequel will consist of Jupiter selecting her guard from among the Legion and will come whenever I have enough time and motivation to write it. Comments with constructive criticism are greatly appreciated :)


End file.
